Agemia raises $38 million to find new drugs by combining theoretical physics with GenAI

Agemiaa French startup It has raised $38 million in funding, combining “quantum-inspired physics” with machine learning to find new drugs. San Francisco-based VC firm Cathay Innovation.

This is Agemia’s second donation of the year announced It raised another 30 million euros ($31.5 million) in January, taking the company’s total funding past $100 million.

Founded in Paris in 2019 by Maximilien Levesque and Emmanuelle Rolland-Martiano (pictured above), Agemia is one of countless startups. applying AI to drug discovery. We saw their likes in 2024 alone Healx raises $47 million fight rare diseases; Formation Bio powered by Sam Altman attracted 372 million dollars; and Khaira Sneak out with $1 billion in funding.

Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and Director John Jumper, meanwhile, He shared half of the Nobel Prize chemistry for them Work on Alphafoldan artificial intelligence system that accurately predicts protein structures—crucial for drug discovery.

Agemia, for its part, said it used physics and statistical mechanics algorithms to train a generative artificial intelligence system, which then helped design potential drug candidates for “critical diseases.” Primary focus is on oncology (cancer) and immuno-oncology (using the body’s immune system to fight cancer).

The company says this approach to AI training eliminates the need for expensive and time-consuming experimental data and instead uses algorithms to generate essentially synthetic data to predict the properties of potential drug molecules and how they might interact with a target.

London is calling

Obviously Artificial intelligence powered drug discovery is a hot space right now and Agemia itself is already making headway in the industry. Last December, the beginning signed A multi-year deal with French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, a deal worth up to $140 million depending on the outcome of certain R&D milestones.

With a fresh $38 million in the bank, the company is now gearing up to ramp up its hiring efforts. This includes a new office in London due to open in early 2025 – a move designed to give Agemia “access to the UK’s rich talent pool”. press release. Having a global VC firm like Cathay Innovation on board can also open the door to new markets.

“Less than a year after our last round, this successful fundraising and the opening of our new London office take significant steps towards our ambition to accelerate the discovery of new medicines on a global scale,” said Levesque. “Partnering with Cathay Innovation brings international expertise, particularly in the US and Asia, to strengthen our vision and mission.”

In addition to lead backer Cathay Innovation, Aqemia’s latest round included existing investors Wendel, Bpifrance Large Venture, Eurazeo and Elaia.